I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 227 Embracing All of Europe and Inventing Christmas
While St. Petersburg was buzzing with excitement for Mikhail, who was far away in France, Mikhail was busy taking care of some important matters before preparing to travel directly to England.

It's worth mentioning that since Europe isn't very large to begin with, and Britain and France are even closer together, coupled with advancements in industrial technology, these days, if there are no delays along the way, it generally takes about three days to travel from Paris to London.

Since the railway line connecting Paris and the ports of the English Channel was not yet completed that year, the first step was to take a horse-drawn carriage from Paris to a Channel port like Calais, which was the most time-consuming part of the journey, taking about one or two days.

Next, we boarded a steam paddle steamer, which was already widely accepted in Britain and France. The steamship only took three or four hours, while the old-fashioned sailing ships, which depended on the weather, could take a whole day or even longer if we were unlucky.

The journey became even faster after reaching the coast of Dover in England, as London's railway network was already quite advanced by this time. The railway from Dover to London was largely completed and opened in 1844, making the journey only three hours.

This route reveals a lot. First, it is obvious that Britain's railway construction surpassed that of France at the same time. Second, steamships were widely accepted and used in Britain and France. So what about Russia at this time?

Nicholas I's other son, Konstantin Nikolayevich, proposed building steamships, but Nicholas I did not trust new inventions and stubbornly remained devoted to sailing ships. His will, in turn, represented the general will of the Russian upper class.

There must have been other intelligent people who could have discovered these things, but unfortunately, Nicholas I became more and more autocratic as he grew older, to the point that in the end, almost no one around him was willing to tell the truth.

Putting that aside for now, Mikhail's original plan was to first travel to countries like Germany for a while, exchange ideas with some people, and even go to a small village where Nietzsche is now living, so as to achieve the accomplishment of "I used to hold you when you were a child!"

Yes, at this point in time, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was only one year old.

Furthermore, it must be said that if Mikhail wanted, he could hug countless famous figures from his childhood, such as Maupassant, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Wilde, and Tesla.
When they get to know each other and talk about this experience, they might exclaim after checking their accounts, "Huh? Mr. Mikhail hugged you too?!"

Then future generations might jokingly add, "Mikhail held the whole of Europe in his arms."

Mikhail is daydreaming again.
Of course, plans can't always keep up with changes. As time passed and Christmas approached, Mikhail finally decided that business was more important and decided to take advantage of the opportunity that Dickens would be releasing his Christmas books to make a name for himself in Britain.

Normally, many British authors would tacitly avoid releasing new books on Christmas Day, and even if they did release them on that day, they would absolutely not write anything about Christmas.

After all, Dickens during this period was arguably the most influential and best-selling writer in Britain, while other British writers wouldn't have been so impulsive.

However, for Mikhail...
I avoided his edge? !

Of course, failure is possible, but Mikhail isn't afraid of it at all right now. If he doesn't suffer the pain of literary failure now, he might have to endure the bitterness of freezing temperatures later.
However, just in the last few days, Mikhail took the time to revisit Dickens' classic work, "A Christmas Carol."

The story of this novel is roughly about the extremely selfish and miserly Scrooge being visited by three Christmas elves on Christmas Eve: the "Ghost of the Past," the "Ghost of the Present," and the "Ghost of the Future."

These "spirits" allowed him to see beautiful scenes of his past, a happy scene in the home of one of his poor subordinates, and a desolate scene of his future old age.

He was deeply moved, and began to rethink the meaning of life, discovering that giving is more joyful than receiving. This gradually awakened another side of his humanity—compassion, kindness, love, and joy—and he began to truly experience the pleasure of life through acts of charity.

This story reveals a recurring theme in Dickens' novels: the celebration of truth, goodness, and beauty.

At the same time, one of the interesting things about this novel is that it makes Dickens the one who "invented Christmas".

Simply put, Christmas was not widely known to many Britons during the Victorian era when "A Christmas Carol" was published. However, with the novel's immense popularity, the customs depicted in the story, such as family reunions, gift exchanges, and Christmas meals, subtly and profoundly influenced reality and eventually became an indispensable part of Christmas.

The greeting "Merry Christmas" became widely known and gradually became the standard holiday greeting because of the popularity of "A Christmas Carol".

In an era before the information explosion, literature did indeed have the power to reshape collective memory to a certain extent. One of the purposes of Tolstoy's creation of "War and Peace" was precisely to reshape the collective memory of the Russian people and to promote the development of contemporary Russia by using the bravery and national spirit shown by Russia in resisting Napoleon.

Now that things have come to this, Mikhail is also preparing to get involved. He will undoubtedly add some Christmas-related details to his upcoming works, but whether it will become a custom is another matter. Even if it doesn't, it would certainly be interesting to do this with Dickens.

As for what details to add, to be honest, Mikhail wants to do something different, but he's still thinking about the specifics.
While Mikhail was studying these matters, his life in Paris certainly continued.

Recently, Mikhail has been visiting Alexandre Dumas's house quite often. Firstly, Dumas is truly exceptional in his treatment of friends, emphasizing benevolence and righteousness. Secondly, what attracts Mikhail is that Dumas's house has a rich variety of ingredients, including everything from chili peppers to black pepper.

As mentioned before, Alexandre Dumas was not only a great writer but also a good cook. After visiting his home a few times, Mikhail was able to taste Dumas's cooking.

While it wouldn't be to the point that Mikhail would exclaim that it tasted like his mother's cooking, some of the dishes did indeed taste very good.

After trying it twice, Mikhail, feeling a sudden urge to try it, said to Alexandre Dumas, "Mr. Dumas, let me give it a try."

"Oh?"

Immediately intrigued, Dumas replied, "You can cook too? You're interested in cooking?"

Mikhail still held up two fingers and said, "A little bit."

This is indeed the truth; although Mikhail possesses this skill, the food he makes is only passable in terms of taste.

"Then come on over! I'm really looking forward to it!"

After receiving Alexandre Dumas's approval, Mikhail studied Dumas's ingredients briefly and quickly got to work.

In order to get a feel for the dish, Mikhail first made a dish that is quite common in Russia. Dumas, who had been watching from the sidelines, simply nodded slightly. For a seasoned gourmet like him, what classic European dish hadn't he tried?
Even Russian cuisine is no exception.

It now seems that Mikhail really only knew a little bit, and his cooking skills weren't particularly impressive.
Just as Alexandre Dumas was thinking this, he suddenly felt that something was amiss. Wait, why did he combine these two ingredients?
Huh? Why did he put the seasonings in like that?
Hmm? Why does he seem to be getting more and more skilled and confident?
So what exactly is he doing? I've never seen him do this before!
Am I not actually a big foodie?

Am I not knowledgeable enough about food?!

Just as Alexandre Dumas was beginning to doubt himself, Mikhail finally managed to prepare two dishes that he was more familiar with.

However, due to the limited amount of seasonings, Mikhail could only say that he had tried his best to recreate the approximate result. Even so, after putting the finished product into his mouth, Mikhail was still in a daze for a while.

Oh no, this really does taste like mom's cooking.
However, in life, we must always look forward.

After a moment of confusion, Mikhail quickly regained his senses. When he saw that Dumas seemed eager to try it, Mikhail smiled and invited Dumas to give it a taste.

To be honest, although Mikhail missed the taste, it was impossible for Alexandre Dumas, a true Frenchman, to exclaim, "It tastes like my mother's!", "I've been eating whatever I could find when you weren't around!", or "You're the real connoisseur!"

But for some reason, Dumas actually started to savor it carefully. It took him quite a while to come to his senses, and then he couldn't help but say, "It's a very strange taste. It seems that you're not just making it randomly. But your method seems to be very different from what I've seen before. Where is this method from?"

Upon hearing this question, Mikhail replied directly: "This is a method from the East, but due to the issue of materials, this method is not accurate; it can only be said to be a slight reproduction."

Alexandre Dumas: "??!!"

You've even learned Eastern cooking methods just for the sake of delicious food?

This is a true connoisseur!

Thinking of this, Alexandre Dumas, who always had a great interest in food, couldn't help but take a step forward and grab Mikhail's hand, saying, "Mikhail, please teach me! This is a very rare cooking technique; you can hardly find anyone in all of France who truly understands it. I never expected you to know it."

Mikhail: “?”

Unlock the side quest, "I'm a Chef in France"?
To be honest, Mikhail's time is limited, and this is more of a flavorful experience than a chance to cause a big stir in France.

But since Alexandre Dumas had spoken so sincerely, Mikhail finally nodded and said, "I only know a little bit, but if you don't mind, I can tell you a little bit."

"That's great! Now I have a question: do you think this dish would taste better if we added some cheese and mixed it in?"

Mikhail: “???”

If you dare do that, I'll really shoot you.
"No, then this would be a completely different dish."

And so, while Mikhail was eating and drinking at Alexandre Dumas's house these days, he also took the opportunity to exchange some cooking tips with Dumas.

It must be said that Alexandre Dumas was indeed talented in cooking. Although Mikhail did not know much, Dumas still managed to create some fusion dishes based on that information.

However, most of the dishes made this way tasted rather strange. When Dumas finally managed to create a dish with a unique flavor and a passable taste after much effort, he immediately exclaimed excitedly:
"It's here! A unique new dish! Mikhail, how about we call it Mikhail Fish? I think it might be written into a book and published someday."

Mikhail: “?”

There's such a gain?

Choosing a name like that makes it feel like it's going to get bitten by many people.
After thinking about it for a while, Mikhail finally accepted the proposal. As for how things will develop afterward, it's really hard to say.

Besides visiting Alexandre Dumas, Mikhail also made time to meet Kuber, who was going to paint his portrait, and then found a place to be Kuber's model.

Since Kuber seemed to be very inspired, he completed the portrait almost in one go and sent it directly to Mikhail not long afterward.

Mikhail didn't know much about painting, so he just thought the portrait was quite lifelike and the colors gave people a very comfortable feeling.

Of course, there are downsides too. For example, Mikhail always felt that his portrait looked a bit pretentious; the smile on his face, at first glance, seemed mysterious, but Mikhail always felt that the smile was a bit off.
It seems this painter still failed to capture my essence!
Am I, Mikhail, some kind of pretentious person?!
However, since this was Mikhail's first portrait in Paris, he felt it was quite meaningful and placed his signature in a suitable spot. In that instant before writing it, Mikhail couldn't help but think:

Is it possible that this portrait will become a cultural relic in the future?

Mikhail pondered for a moment, but ultimately, he also showed a relaxed smile.

Oh well, whatever. In any case, he's very happy to have received this portrait today.

With this thought in mind, Mikhail quite easily put pen to paper and wrote:

The portrait is excellent, but it lacks composure.

Mikhail Romanovich Raskolnikov, November 20, 1845.

(End of this chapter)